Becoming Team Seven
by Kore Revere
Summary: A reimagining of the Naruto Universe: Haruno Sakura was never put on Team Seven—Hyūga Hinata was.


PROLOGUE:

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" _What we call little things are merely the causes of great things; they are the beginning, the embryo, and it is the point of departure, which, generally speaking, decides the whole future of an existence. One single black speck may be the beginning of a gangrene, of a storm, of a revolution…"_

-Henri-Frédéric Amiel, a Swiss philosopher

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… _You'll find that Haruno Sakura tied Yamanaka Ino in topping the highest written-exam scores, whilst Uchiha Sasuke claimed the title of Number One Rookie for this year's graduates, having excelled in every area; however, his behavior is concerning, for lack of a better word. On his best days, he is completely detached; on his worst, I've witnessed him pull the most disparaging of insults (usually at Naruto). Mostly he remains unapproachable (the greatest misfortune to his female classmates). Uzumaki Naruto, on the other hand, has consistently maintained his spot as Dead Last: his grades have barely qualified as passing and he has struggled to learn the most basic maneuvers and Jutsus; yet, his goals remain unchanged: he wants to become Hokage—but, really, he wants to be acknowledged by his peers and the village's denizens, a product of his own unfortunate circumstances_ …

Iruka's reports, much like the man himself, were neat and efficient. The handwriting was square and straight and utilized every bit of space on the sheet of paper to convey as much information as possible. This particular report was longer than most, the culmination of nearly a year of observations and findings. This was in addition to several other reports produced from other Academy instructors as well as Hiruzen's own notes and official data sheets on each student—all compiled for the specific purpose of forming teams for this year's graduating class.

It would be easier for him to just regale this team-forming duty to the Academy instructors (they had already prepared a list of what they believed would constitute appropriate teams), especially now that it was peacetime and a single mission didn't tip the balance in favor of a single power—but Hiruzen knew he owed it to these young Shinobi to provide the best team formations possible; the teams were the basis of learning what it truly took to become a Shinobi. The Academy was a mere formality.

Many of this year's graduates were from civilian families or smaller, lesser-known clans, but among the twenty-seven graduates were also Aburame, an Akimichi, a Hyūga, an Inuzuka, a Nara, a Yamanaka—and, of course, one of the survivors of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke. All of this was in addition to Minato Namikaze's own son—Kyūbi's vessel himself—Uzumaki Naruto. Now, it was up to Hiruzen to find a way that equally split the students' abilities among every team.

Hiruzen had decided to follow the Academy's recommendations for the most part: most of the children of non-Shinobi families and smaller clans had already been sorted. In addition, the Yamanaka girl and Nara and Akimichi boys would constitute the famed Ino-Shika-Cho formation. Now that left the remaining graduates: Aburame Shino, Haruno Sakura, Hyūga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. Hiruzen found that splitting them was difficult.

The Academy's instructors recommended that Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto could form a team, leaving the Hyūga girl with Kiba Inuzuka and the Aburame boy to form a specialized tracking squad under the tutelage of Yūhi Kurenai. The splitting was logical, Hiruzen admitted—especially for Team Seven: Sasuke had the potential to awaken the legendary Sharingan, one of the only means of controlling Kyuubi since that wood-user in the ANBU wasn't nearly capable enough yet. But forgetting their unique qualities, the boys would have been put together anyways. One was the dead-last prankster and the other the Number One Rookie. They'd balance a team well-enough—and even forgoing that, Hiruzen would have placed them together if only for the difficult pasts they'd both endured. If anyone would be able to understand them, they would one another. With them compromising one team, it only made sense to put Hatake Kakashi as their leader. As of now, he was the only Sharingan user in the entire Village, and therefore the only one suited to train Sasuke; to mention, he'd been Minato's student.

Hiruzen frowned, scratching his beard. He wasn't sure how well Haruno Sakura would do on Hatake's team. The Academy's instructors had recommended her to be placed on Team Seven because she balanced the team in the traditional sense: her written-exam scores topped even Sasuke's, whereas he excelled in all other practical areas and Naruto failed in almost all. But exam scores were only a small glimpse into someone. Who was Sakura as a person? He shuffled through Iruka's lengthy report.

… _Haruno Sakura is undeniably a brilliant girl. Her grades only attest how far advanced she seems to be relative to other children her age, yet in all other respects, she is still a twelve-year-old girl. Like a majority of her fellow female classmates, she desires the affections of Uchiha Sasuke but, much like Uzumaki Naruto, she has a deeper desire to be acknowledged by those around her. For this reason, she broke off her relationship with her longtime friend Yamanaka Ino, having believed she was trapped under the girl's shadow. Sakura is quick-minded but never fails to ask questions should she not understand or point out what doesn't make sense. On the surface she seems cordial and well-behaved, but I have witnessed upon numerous occasions the wrath of her temper—usually directed at Naruto, who seems to have affections for her…_

Hiruzen set the report back down, shaking his head. She sounded like a miniature Tsunade (only lacking the ridiculous strength). If he put her on Team Seven, along with Naruto and Sasuke, he could only wonder. What would their team dynamics be like?

A fool trying to impress the pretty, sharp-mouthed girl who only paid attention to the aloof genius. Hiruzen winced. Overwhelmingly like his own Genin team had been, it seemed.

That kind of placement had been successful in the beginning. Tsunade's constant rejections of Jiraiya's affections had pushed him to surpass Orochimaru… but in the end, their bonds hadn't been enough to save his brilliant yet terrible student. Hiruzen could only wonder if Sakura would ever be able to dislodge that hate instilled in Sasuke—if she could at all. Like the rest of the girls in that class, her feelings for him seemed superficial at best.

And how would she fare under Kakashi's tutelage? The Jōnin was ideal to teach Sasuke because of their shared Kekkei Genkai and he was well-acquainted with his sensei's own techniques should Naruto ever learn the jutsus of his father's legacy. But other than teaching the basics (which any other sensei could do as well), he would have little to offer Sakura.

But what if he placed her on Team Eight with Kurenai? Sakura, like Kurenai, was a natural genjutsu-user, and even in the traditional sense she balanced out that team well enough. Her excellent grades made up for Inuzuka Kiba's abysmal scores while Aburame Shino did well enough in all other areas; however, both boys were probably well-acquainted with the individual fighting styles of their respective clans—they could have much to teach Sakura about the practicalities of Shinobi life. And even better, she could easily keep Kiba in line while simultaneously drawing out the reclusive Aburame boy.

The Haruno girl and the Inuzuka and Akimichi boys forming one team, Hinata would have to be placed with Naruto and Sasuke. He frowned and went to the data the Academy had provided. The photo on the ID sheet showed a dark-haired, pale-faced, pale-eyed girl, easily recognizable as a Hyūga clan member. She wore her hitai-ate around her neck, leaving her forehead bare, announcing to the world she was a member of the Main House—although she possessed none of the self-assurance (borderline arrogance, really) and outright pride typical of her fellow clan-members. Instead, she was reserved to the point of rarely speaking—stuttering when she did—and completely insecure.

That was probably the result her father's intense training methods and high expectations. Hiruzen sighed as he remembered that disaster of the Hyūga affair just nine years ago that left one of the village's Jōnin dead. Hiruzen knew Hyūga Hiashi greatly cared for his daughters—and his clan—but the man required a strong, capable leader, one that he couldn't find in his oldest child. Hiruzen wasn't surprised when rumors began circulating that alleged Hiashi skipped over Hinata and named her younger sister Hanabi as heir.

Would Hinata balance team seven? Not in the traditional sense: with the Hyūga girl's Byakugan and the Uchiha Sharingan, there would be an overabundance of Dōjutsu—but that wasn't necessarily bad. Kakashi was certainly qualified enough to be teaching eye-technique, and Hinata's Byakugan had its own advantages on that team—like reading Naruto's chakra spikes, a skill of primary importance when dealing with Kyūbi. So, yes, perhaps the team could work, but how well would she fit?

Iruka had little to say about the reclusive girl: _among the graduates, Hinata is the quietest: she rarely speaks in class and chooses to sit in the far back where she remains mostly unnoticed by her classmates; her scores are not the best, but not the worst, either—completely average. Her shy nature has made it nearly impossible for to have any friends. In all respects, she is almost completely overlooked. I've only noticed one peculiarity about her: like the other girls her age, she seems to have affections for a classmate—however, she (most unexpectedly) admires the deadlast, Uzumaki Naruto. Indeed, I have often spotted her following him; though, I'm doubtful Naruto returns these feelings—or that he is even aware of them…_

Hinata certainly hadn't led an easy life. She, like Naruto, struggled with loneliness and to become accepted by the people around her, and wasn't spared from any tragedy in her life. Her own mother died when she was young and living with the Hyūgas by no means fulfilled all the roles of a happy family. It was nowhere near the magnitude of Sasuke's own trauma… but it was something.

Perhaps the outspoken Uzumaki boy could drive Hinata out of her shell. Perhaps Hinata's calm and nurturing personality was what Sasuke needed. And maybe Hinata's affections towards Naruto were what he needed after a lifetime of unendurable solitude.

Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled for the first time that evening as he made his final decisions regarding the team formations and began writing up the necessary paperwork. Whatever happened after this would be out of his hands.

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Author's Notes: A small beginning; hopefully more will come.


End file.
